Spurs edge Trail Blazers

Feb 20, 2014 - 7:39 AM
Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Patty Mills stepped up in the fourth
quarter for the second straight night and the San Antonio Spurs edged the
Portland Trail Blazers 111-109 at Moda Center.

Mills netted 13 of his 29 points in the final stanza Wednesday in leading the
Spurs to their sixth win on a nine-game road trip, which ends Friday in
Phoenix. The reserve guard had 16 points in the fourth frame in Tuesday's win
over the Clippers.

"Patty was spectacular again. He's a tough cover. He's a great competitor and
he has helped us like that all year long," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich
said.

Marco Belinelli scored 20 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer down the
stretch, while Danny Green and Manu Ginobili chipped in with 16 apiece in the
victory.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting, but
Portland opened up its post All-Star Game slate with a third straight loss. Mo
Williams and Wesley Matthews contributed 19 and 18 points, respectively, in a
losing cause.

"We tried to beat San Antonio at their game and they did it better than us,"
Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. "We didn't do enough defensively to get
the win."

Both teams were playing without key contributors, as Tony Parker and Tim
Duncan rested for San Antonio and LaMarcus Aldridge was out with a left groin
strain for the Blazers.

Portland missed its first 10 shots of the fourth quarter, and San Antonio's
subsequent 13-1 run, capped by a Mills 3-pointer, had the Spurs on top 92-82.

The Blazers made one final run and pulled even at 101-101 on Matthews' steal
and dunk with 1:51 remaining.

Belinelli answered with a 3-pointer, then fed Tiago Splitter in the lane for a
bucket while being fouled. Splitter missed the free throw with 54.4 seconds
left, then went 1-of-2 from the line the next time down to make it a six-point
game at 107-101.

Williams kept the Blazers in striking distance with a 3-pointer, and when
Splitter missed a layup with time winding down, the Blazers looked like they
were going to have a chance at tying things up. Robin Lopez, though, turned
the ball over and the Spurs held on for the win.

Both teams shot under 35 percent from the field in the first quarter, which
ended with the Blazers holding a 24-18 lead.

Things picked up in the second, and even though the Spurs trailed 52-51 at
halftime, they took the game's biggest lead at the time midway through the
third when Mills drove in for two for a 69-60 advantage.

Portland answered with the next eight points and brought a slim 81-79 edge
into the fourth.

Game Notes

The Blazers had won four straight against San Antonio and nine of their
previous 10 at home in this series ... Lopez totaled 11 points and 14 rebounds
... Splitter, who missed the previous four games with an injury, netted 15
points.